The leader of Caerphilly county borough council sets out the authority’s plans and priorities for the coming year at a meeting of council on Tuesday night.
Cllr Lindsay Whittle explained to fellow councillors that there will inevitably be tough times ahead, be he underlined his belief that the council is well placed to ride out the uncertainties caused by the current economic difficulties.
“Last year we brought forward a three-year plan for improving services and our priorities for ‘building better communities for all’ has not altered despite the financial climate,” said Cllr Whittle. “Our key projects and actions remain in place. Our strength, we believe, lies in concentrating on delivering the services the public need and want. However, we recognise the Chancellor’s budget statement next week will probably bring further constraints to our plans.”
The council has agreed a number of key actions as part of the 3 year plan: –
- Rationalisation of Assets – this links to the work already started to consolidate the council’s administrative sites, entering into partnership with communities to take on sports and community facilities and finally ensuring the premises the council occupy run efficiently minimising overheads and reducing its carbon footprint.
- Stock Transfer – The council took a difficult decision, but it is determined to ask the people what they want to do. Whether the vote is to stay or transfer, ultimately this will affect the council’s budget as well.
- 21st Century Schools – There are ambitious plans to change the way schools work and operate. What this will look like and how it delivers education in the county borough will be decided by councillors, education staff and local people working together.
- Collaboration – The council has always led the way in Wales showing how it can work well with other agencies such as the Voluntary Sector, Health and Police. These relationships have taken many years to build the trust and co-operation needed to be able to work in collaboration for the benefit of the people in the county borough.
Cllr Whittle also praised the Chief Executive, Stuart Rosser, who recently announced he is to resign at the end of the year. “Stuart has helped position this organisation as a sound financial council, with his Directors he has delivered last year’s budget in line with our spending plans and therefore allowed us to approach this most difficult period with our head above the water,” he said.
Please go to the Cabinet web page to view the Leader’s full statement.
